Responding to the requests of Mecklenburg County ophthalmologist groups and practices, Central Piedmont Community College will open a new diploma program to train ophthalmic medical assistants in August 2013. Kathleen Rodgers, formerly of Horizon Eye Care in Charlotte, will serve as program chair and instructor.

The one-year program will prepare students for positions in ophthalmologist and optometrist offices. Upon completion of the program, students will take the national Certified Ophthalmic Assistant exam. CPCC’s program will be only the third ophthalmic medical assistant program offered by a North Carolina community college.

Officials say that given the Charlotte region’s aging population, eye physicians have a growing need for ophthalmic assistants. According to U.S. Dept. of Labor information, ophthalmic medical assistant is of the 30-most rapidly growing occupations in the nation.

M. Jo Shirley was appointed principal at Irwin Academic Center at the April 9 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education meeting.

Shirley began her career in 1998 as a teacher at Pontiac Elementary School in Columbia, S.C., where she taught fifth grade. In 2004, she became an assistant principal at Killian Elementary School in Columbia. In 2009, Shirley became principal of Port Royal Elementary in Port Royal, S.C., and she is currently principal at Joseph S. Shanklin Elementary in Beaufort, S.C.

She is a graduate of the University of California with a degree in psychology. She also holds master’s degrees in business administration, teaching and administration from the University of South Carolina.

Shirley will begin her new position July 1. David LeGrand, current principal at Irwin Academic Center, will become manager of talent acquisition in the CMS Human Resources department in June.

Gone are the days when Orchestra Director Bill Myers needs a tape recorder to listen to a student’s pitch. In his classes at Hough High School, Myers uses a new form of technology – the SmartMusic App which changes the way students practice and learn their instruments.

The interactive tool allows students to play along with the music onscreen and provides immediate feedback on their performance. Myers uses the app to grade 50 percent of the student’s assignment while his trained ear provides the other half.

The House of Education Committee is working to pass House Bill 127 that students have arts education credit for graduation beginning with the freshmen class of 2016.